Eye-protecting device



Feb. 13, 1968 M. N- ANDERSON 3,368,221

' EYE-PROTECTING DEVICE Filed April 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 UnitedStates Patent 3,368,221 EYE-PROTECTING DEVICE Marshall N. Anderson,Grayslake, Ill., assignor to Sellstrom Manufacturing Company, Palatine,111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 539,576 7Claims. (Cl. 2-14) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An eye-protecting deviceutilizing a holder at the forward end of which there is provided lensholding means for removably accommodating and retaining a lens piece inspaced relation with respect to the face of the wearer. The lens holdingmeans cooperates with the periphery of said lens piece to form aplurality of spaced ventilating passages which circumvent the peripheryof the accommodated lens and permit ventilation of the space formedbetween the lens and the face of the wearer. The inner portion of theholder is provided with a face-engaging peripheral portion whichincludes an outer segment extending laterally outwardly from the holder,and an inner segment which is connected to the upper edge of the outersegment and extends resiliently laterally inwardly therefrom. The innersegment is of pliable material and is capable of conformingsubstantially to the facial configuration of the wearer. Stop means isprovided between the inner and outer segments so as to limit the extentto which the inner segment may move or flex towards the outer segment.The outer segment may be perforated and communicate with the spacebetween the lens and the face of the wearer and permit furtherventilation therefor.

Various devices of this general type have heretofore been used; however,because of certain design characteristics they are beset with numeorusshortcomings. For example, such devices are uncomfortable to wear asthey do not readily conform to the wearers facial contour. Furthermore,fogging of the interior surface of the lens of the prior devicesfrequently occurs causing impairment of sight through the device.Oftentimes, replacement of a lens in a prior device is an awkward andtime-consuming operation.

Thus, it is one of the objects of this invention to provide an improveddevice which is not beset with the aforenoted shortcomings of the priorstructures.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved devicewhich is attractive in appearance, of light weight, yet sturdy,construction, and inexpensive to produce.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improveddevice which is versatile and can readily be worn by adults and childrenof both sexes.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide an improveddevice which provides maximum protection for the eyes against glare,dust, and other foreign particles.

Further and additional objects will appear from the description,accompanying drawings, and appended claims.

In accordance with one embodiment, a device is provided which comprisesa lens, a holder therefor, and means for securing the device on the faceof the wearer.

The holder includes a forwardly disposed lens opening "ice delimited bya channel-shaped pocket for removably accommodating the lens periphery.Disposed rearwardly of the lens opening is a peripheral portion which isadapted to resiliently engage a facial portion of the wearer. The holderperipheral portion includes a soft yieldable inner segment and an outersegment connected thereto; said segments normally assuming spacedrelation with respect to one another. One of the segments carries stopmeans which limit the extent to which the inner segment can be movedtoward the outer segment when contact is made between the face of thewearer and the inner segment.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference should bemade to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of one form of the improved device and havingportions thereof cut away.

FIG. 2 is a right side elevational view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of FIG. 1 with portions thereofcut away.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the lens alone.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7 but taken along line 88 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the improved device is illustrated in theform of an industrial goggle 10. It is to be understood of course thatthe invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment but may takethe form of a goggle utilized by skiers or others engaged in sportactivities requiring eye protection. By the term industrial goggle it isintended to cover persons engaged, for example, in grinding, sanding andchipping or in actively involving chemical splash whereby protection ofthe eyes is an important consideration.

The device 10 includes a lens 11, a lens holder 12, and securing means13 for retaining the device on the face of the wearer, Means 13, as seenin FIG. 2, is in the form of an elastic band, the ends 13a of which areattached to side portions 12a of the holder.

The holder 12 is preferably of one piece molded construction and isformed of a soft vinyl or similar plastic material which may betransparent and tinted so as to reduce glare, or may be translucent oropaque depending upon the activity of the wearer and the use for whichthe device is intended.

A lens opening 14 is formed in the forward or front portion of theholder. In the illustrated embodiment only a single lens opening isprovided; however, if desired, two openings may be provided, one foreach eye, which are separated by a nose bridging or connecting section.

The circumferential portion of opening 14 is in the form of achannel-shaped pocket 15, which is adapted to resiliently accommodatethe periphery of lens 11. Pocket 15, as seen more clearly in FIGS. 7 and8 includes an inner flange 15a, an outer flange 15b, and a base sectionwhich serves to interconnect corresponding portions of flanges 15a andb. The base section lie at predetermined locations is provided with aplurality of lugs 16, only one being shown in FIG. 7. The location ofthe lugs in the pocket corresponds to the location of the notches 11aformed in the periphery of the lens, see FIG. 4. Once the lugs 16 aredisposed within the respective notches 11a, the lens 11 is restrainedfrom shifting with the pocket 15.

In FIG. 8 it will be noted at spaced intervals about the lens peripherythat the flanges 15a and b and base 150 are all spaced from the lensperiphery and thus, permit ventilation along the interior surface of thelens. Spacing between flanges 15a and b and the lens 11 is effected by aplurality of relatively spaced spacers 19, see FIG. 3. By reason of suchventiliation, fogging of the lens interior surface is avoided. Withprior devices, fogging of the lens interior surface was particularlyacute because of the lack of ventilation.

Because of the tortuous configuration and the size of the ventilatingpassageways disposed about the lens periphery, dust particles and evenliquid caused by splashing, are not likely to find their way into thespace formed between the eyes of the wearer and the interior surface ofthe lens.

In the area of the nose bridging portion of the device, there areprovided upper and lower locking buttons 17 and 18, see FIGS. and 6,respectively, Both locking buttons are of like construction, and includea protuberance or pintle 20 which is carried by one of the pocketformingflanges a or b and extends transversely of the pocket through a suitableopening 21 formed in the lens 11, see FIG. 4. The distal end of thepintle is positioned within a suitable opening or cavity 22 formed inthe other pocket-forming flange. The pintle 20 is adapted to normallyassume a locking position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Because of theinherent resilient character of the material of which the holder ismolded, the pintle can be readily moved to an unlocking position bymerely bending the pintle-carrying flange (flange 15b in the illustratedembodiment) away from the other flange until the distal end of thepintle is free of the lens opening 21. The locking buttons 17 and 18combine with the pocket lugs 16 so as to effectively secure the lens inproper position within the holder.

Disposed rearwardly of the lens opening 14 are upper and lowerfacial-contacting portions 23 and 24, respectively. The upper portion 23has an arcuate shape which conforms generally to the foreheadconfiguration of the wearer. The lower portion 24 likewise is arcuate inshape, but is in two sections which are separated by a saddle 25, thelatter resting upon the nose of the wearer.

Both the upper and lower portions 23 and 24 are substantially of thesame construction and each includes a yieldable inner segment 26, anouter segment 27, and a connecting segment 28, see FIG. 9. Segments 26and 27 are adapted to normally assume a spaced apart relation as shown.When the device is worn, however, the inner segment 26 will contact theface of the wearer and, because of the yieldable or pliable character ofthe segment, the latter will move toward the outer segment 27 andconform to the facial configuration. To prevent segment 26 assuming aface-to-face contact with segment 27, a plurality of stop elements 30are formed on one of the segments and are disposed between the twosegments 26 and 27. The elements 30 serve to retain the segments in aminimum spaced apart position.

The outer segment 27, may, if desired, be provided with a plurality ofperforations 31. By reason of the stop elements 30 preventing segments26 and 27 engaging one another in face-to-face contact, the perforations31 will always be in communication with the space formed between theeyes of the wearer and the lens and thus, provide ventilation for suchspace.

Where the device is being worn by one engaged in an activity involvingsplashing of a liquid, the perforations 31 may be omitted entirely. Inany case, the perforations 31 are very small and thus, prevent most, ifnot all, dust or foreign particles from finding their way into thedevice interior. Perforations 31 provide a cooling ventilating effect,and thus, add materially to the comfort of the wearer.

The rearward disposition of portions 23 and 24 with respect to the lens11 and the rearward extent of the sides 12a are such as to provideadequate space for accommodating eyeglasses of the wearer if the latteris wearing same. Likewise the sides 12a of the holder are each providedwith an outwardly projecting hollow portion 12b, which is adopted toaccommodate one of the rearwardly extending temples, not shown, of thewearers eye-glasses.

Because of the yieldable character of the material from which the holderis formed, the sides 12a and rear portions 23 and 24 of the holder arecapable of bending so as to conform accurately to the shape of thewearers face and head. Thus, the device may be worn by young and oldalike regardless of sex. The length of the band 13 may be readily variedas desired in a manner well known in the art, so to provide maximumcomfort for the wearer.

The lens 11 is readily replaceable, when required, and for this reasontherefore the versatility of the device is greatly enhanced. Forexample, when a grinding operation is involved, a clear or slightlytinted lens might be used; whereas, when the device is used during awelding operation, the lens would be a smoked or heavily tinted type. Ineither case the lens would be formed of either safety glass or plasticmaterial.

Thus, it will be seen that a protective device has been provided whichis extremely comforatable to wear either with or without eye-glasses, isattractive and of sturdy construction, is inexpensive to produce, andprovides effective protection for the eyes of the wearer.

While several embodiments of this invention have been described above,further modifications may be made thereto and it is contemplated,therefore, by the appended claims, to cover any such modifications asfall within the true spirt and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. An eye-protecting device comprising a lens, a holder therefor, andmeans for securing the holder on the head of a wearer; said holderincluding a peripheral portion spaced from said lens for resilientlyengaging the face of a wearer, said peripheral portion beingsubstantially U- shaped in vertical cross-section and having anoutwardly and laterally extending outer segment and a yieldable innersegment connected to the outer marginal portion of said outer segmentand extending resiliently inwardly therefrom and in spaced relation withthe remainder of said outer segment, said inner segment is pliable andconforms substantially to the facial contour of the wearer, said outersegment is perforated and said perforations communicate with and effectventilation of the space between said lens and the eyes of the wearerwhen the device is being worn, and stop means carried by one of saidsegments for limiting the extent to which said inner segment can bemoved toward said outer segment when in contact with the face of thewearer.

2. The eye-protecting device of claim 1 wherein said holder includes aforwardly disposed lens opening defined by a substantiallychannel-shaped pocket, disposed within said pocket are a plurality ofspaced lugs which engage suitable notches formed in the lens peripheryand effect locking of the lens within said pocket, said lens peripherybeing resiliently accommodated within said pocket, portions of saidpocket intermediate said lugs being spaced from said lens periphery toform ventilating passages which circumvent portions of said lensperiphery.

3. The eye-protecting device of claim 2 wherein each of said ventilatingpassages are of tortuous configuration.

4. The eye-protecting device of claim 2 wherein said channel-shapedpocket includes a nose-bridging section.

5. The eye-protecting device of claim 1 wherein said holder includes aplurality of face-engaging peripheral portions, the inner segment of oneperipheral portion being adapted to engage the forehead of a wearer, andthe inner segment of a second peripheral portion being adapted to engagea facial portion of below the wearers eye.

6. The eye-protectingdevice of claim 5 wherein the holder is of onepiece construction and is molded from a soft pliable material and saidholder peripheral portions cooperating to effect substantial envelopmentof the wearers upper facial eye region.

7. The eye-protecting device of claim 4 wherein said lens includes anose-bridging portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,182,104 12/1939 Wilen 2-14.12,619,644 12/1952 Christensen 214.10 2,706,815 4/1955 Parmelee 214.42,903,700 9/1959 Finken 214.5 X 3,298,031 1/1967 Morgan 2-9 FOREIGNPATENTS 698,614 10/ 1953 Great Britain.

HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner.

